Drogba’s Mystery Handball: Did the Referees Get it Right?

Let me begin my acknowledging that I did not have the opportunity to watch Fulham’s 1-nil victory over soon-to-be recrowned EPL champs Chelsea, but like you, I’m always intrigued by the never-ending controversy that seems to swirl about Jose Mourinho’s side. And as usual, he didn’t miss a beat in stirring the pot amidst the aftermath of this rare league defeat for the Blues.

Thes issue that everyone’s talking about is whether or not Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba deliberately handled the ball on the way to finding the back of the net. Match referee Mike Dean initially allowed the goal, but after vehement protests by the Fulham defenders, Dean consulted with with his assistant Paul Norman to deliberate on the matter for nearly a minute. The decision to deny Chelsea the goal unsurpsingy led to a barrage of criticism by the team and its supporters.

Now, what many football fans are unlikely aware of is the procedure for determining a goal by the team of referees. To acknowledge that the ball has fully crossed the goal line and that no laws of the game were broken by the scoring team, the assistant referee at that end of the pitch will sprint back towards midfield. However, if he has witnessed an infraction by the offensive team (which he apparently did in this case), he will stand at attention, thus indicating to the center referee that he should come over to the touchline to consult with him on the matter.

Now, since I did not see the game, I cannot confirm nor deny whether or not Mr. Norman signaled that the goal was good (by sprinting back towards midfield). However, I did read on the BBC’s website that the EPL Head of Referees Keith Hackett explained that Mr. Norman did use the buzzer on his flag (yes, professional referees do now employ such technology) to signal to Mr. Dean that he come over for a conference. Thus, I can only infer, therefore, that the assistant ref stood in place after the ball went into the net.

So to those of us in the refereeing community, there is NO controversy here. While Chelsea skipper Jose Mourinho claims that the Fulham defenders influenced the decision here, I would argue that the only person to influence this decision was Assistant Referee Paul Norman. Had Mourinho understood the procedures of the referees (as I believe every coach at his level should) then he would’ve immediately recognized that something was wrong rather than blithely accusing the referees of caving in to pressure by the Fulham players.

Everyone, including Mourinho, accepts that the referees got this decision right, so rather than make outlandish claims that the AR couldn’t possibly have seen Drogba’s infraction (as Mourinho did), how ’bout we give a little credit where credit is due and congratulate the referees for a job well done.

Furthermore, since most people really don’t know what the duties and responsibilities of referees and their assistants actually are (and this apparently includes the omniscient Jose Mourinho), they should refrain from casting judgement and making wild accusations lest they suffer the pain and humiliation of being called out for their ignorance.

Just like the eleven players who take the field for each side, the four referees (center, two assistants, and fourth official) also work as a team. They are there to ensure that fair play is enforced and that the safety of the players is not compromised. And in the case of Fulham’s 1 - nil victory over Chelsea, the consensus (and the television replay) seems to agree that the referees rose to the challenge on this occasion.

Until the next view from the middle…

Cheers,
ac